Cascading Complications
by shuutah
Summary: Isn't it strange how obsessions are born? -NamiKai; Kairi-centric-
1. Chapter 1: Irony

**A/N:** Ehh, so I'm not really aspiring to be a writer of any sort. It would be nice, if I had a talent for it, but I think this shall remain a side hobby whilst my drawing remains the slightly more focused hobby. This was written during an art-block of sorts, so I don't really know if my faildrawings included a failfanfic. But hey, I've seen much, much worse writing... so here goes nothing.

Disclaimer: Yeah... no.

* * *

**Cascading Complications**

Ch. 1: Irony

* * *

It was self-deteriorating, sure, her unrelenting insomnia, because it wasn't really the insomnia that was keeping her up. At least, not entirely. She hated dreaming lately, so naturally she tried to avoid it. Or rather, she tried to avoid her. But there were always those days where she couldn't help it, since of course, she didn't really have insomnia at all. She would slip ever so slightly. Namine lived for these slips.

So now, lost in a swirling room in her head, Kairi slowly focused herself. A quick glance around gave her the basics: she was in a pure white room, only slightly bigger than her own. Pure white, that is, besides the colors on top of the hundreds of thousands of papers covering the four walls around her. (Okay, so that was an exaggeration, she would admit to herself, but may as well be the truth).

Other than the drawings, the entire room was furnished with just a small bed with white sheets, and a simple white table with a matching white chair. There was no door. There was no way out, no escape for poor little Kairi. On the table was a box of crayons and even more pieces of paper, one of which the beginnings of a drawing began to creep its way onto the surface. But still, if you squinted at it, you would pretty much see just a blank white paper.

It was blinding, really, all this white.

Kairi groaned as her surroundings registered in her head. This was Namine's room, of all places... she had managed to fall asleep during the Psychology lecture on sleeping disorders. She laughed silently to herself, remembering how she wanted to ditch class today too, if it wasn't for the big fat F plastered over her report cards. That's when she realized her life was filled with ironies.

In her dreams, Kairi never controlled anything but herself. Namine was the queen of Dreamland, while Kairi was the slave to Realtopia. However, Kairi was more of the dreamer, the one who detested rules, the one who often found herself wishing, waiting, wanting to feel something… different. Different than the dull reality she felt trapped in. Namine was the artist, drawing only the things she would see in her visions of reality (or really, they were mostly the things Kairi saw), she would follow the rules, she never complained, never argued. She was the perfect person to have a conversation with. Hell, she was the perfect person period. She wanted to try everything and anything, if only she was given the chance. Kairi wanted to live just so she could dream. Dreaming was much more fun than living anyway. Usually. Dreaming wasn't much fun anymore, ever since she discovered that she was in l-

"Hello," a quiet, meek voice broke the redhead from her thoughts. It wouldn't have been heard if the sealed room wasn't already deadly silent. You could hear a pin drop in here.

Kairi turned slightly, only enough to see the girl behind her, and she quickly turned back as soon as she saw the slightest glimpse of those piercing, bright blue eyes. She lived by the saying that eyes were windows to the soul, and right now, she was very afraid of what could be seen in Namine's soul. Or maybe she was afraid of what Namine would see in hers.

"Hey." she whispered, matching her other half. There was a slight pause, in which Kairi knew she had confused the other girl. But it didn't change anything. Kairi couldn't look at her, she just couldn't. She refused to say anything first, but only because she knew she would blurt out something better left unsaid, because saying it out loud would make it true.

"I haven't… we haven't talked in days," Namine decided to speak first, and Kairi was relieved. But that was only momentary. "I missed you."

With that single statement, Namine succeeded in doubling Kairi's heartbeat, and she hated it.

"… yeah, sorry," was all she could manage to say. She immediately smacked herself (figuratively, of course). After all, what did she have to be sorry for? It wasn't like it was her fault or anything.

"Why won't you sleep? It's bad for you to stay awake all the time, you know."

"I just… I can't help it, okay?" it came out a lot harsher than it was supposed to, but for all anyone knew, it was the truth. If Kairi believed it, then Namine had no choice but to do the same, right?

"You're lying to me. You're not even trying, Kairi."

"No, I…" She paused. "… yeah, sorry."

Kairi wondered. Is this okay? She had just admitted to purposely avoiding the other girl. It was mean of her, but… the truth is better than lying, isn't it? ... Isn't it?

_Don't ask why._ Kairi shut her eyes. _Please don't ask me why._

"… okay then, as long as you know," Namine sighed. "But you know, I really do miss sleeping with you." She giggled, fully aware of the double meaning to her words.

Kairi twitched. Namine noticed.

"Uh. Kairi? Are you alright?" She didn't answer right away. She wondered when exactly their playful banter had become… something more, at least to her. She wondered when exactly she began to think seriously about the things they said to one another. It was painfully ironic, how the color white symbolized purity and innocence to the entire world, and yet she could think of nothing neither pure nor innocent about the girl she associated the color with.

"Kairi?" Her voice was closer. Kairi felt a delicate hand on her shoulder, and she jumped. She didn't really mean to, but she had managed to slap Namine's hand away and take two full steps back all in the second it took to register Namine was within two feet of her. Immediately feeling guilty at the hurt expression on her Nobody's face, Kairi looked down. She couldn't look at her. She couldn't look at those eyes.

"I… sorry. You just," she balled her hands into fists. It was all she could do to keep her emotions in check. "Don't… do that. Please don't do that."

"Don't do what?" Poor Namine. She really had no clue, did she?

This was all so pathetic. They were the same person, weren't they? That's why they were so comfortable with each other before, right? So why now? Why was she feeling so different towards her now? Why did she want to do nothing but push her against the wall and-

"Kairi," Namine's right hand had found it's way to Kairi's cheek, and her left to Kairi's arm. She began to rub it gently; she meant to comfort her, but it wasn't really helping, Kairi decided. She couldn't breathe with her so close. Her face was just a few inches away, all she had to do was lean a little and-

"Kairi, what's wrong with you lately?"

Another step closer.

"Why are you keeping secrets all of a sudden?"

Kairi couldn't move. She could feel Namine's warm breath on her face. It was so tempting.

"Kairi, you know I…"

She never got to finish.

"Kairi! Wakey, wakey, Princess, class is over." Sora grinned and patted her back, as Kairi slowly lifted her head and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** That wasn't too horrible. I don't feel as bad about the chapter as I do about the fic title. D':

Ahah. So anyway, the second and third chapters are already written, I just... need to get my butt on proofreading. Please review and leave your thoughts; it'll probably motivate me a little better!


	2. Chapter 2: Heat

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! Y'all are awesome! This is a slightly shorter chapter that I like slightly less, but... yeah whatever lol.

Disclaimer still stands.

* * *

**Cascading Complications**

Chapter 2: Heat

* * *

"I'm glad you're coming to school and all now, but you know it's pretty much pointless if you sleep through the whole thing, right?" Sora smiled at her. "It sucks how we don't get points for participation and attendance anymore, doesn't it? I miss junior high."

"Mm."

The school day had already ended, but Kairi had a teacher-student conference (which pretty much could be translated to an hour of worthless "you need to try harder"s and "you won't have any second chances in life" blah blah blah), and Riku and Sora had their club activities. Usually Kairi would have gone straight home, but she decided waiting five minutes for the boys to finish their meetings held no harm.

Her locker was right next to Sora's, and Riku's was in the next hall. So Riku did nothing but lean against the row of lockers next to them, trying to look cool for nobody, and Kairi thought that funny as she packed her bag full of books she would need for her homework load tonight. If she decided to do it, that is.

"What? You're still not paying attention?" Riku sounded worried. He wasn't in her classes, but he was aware of her grades. "How are you going to graduate, Kairi?"

"Yeah, Kai. You wanna borrow my notes or something?" Sora began unzipping the bag that he had just finished packing.

"Sora, no. With your handwriting, it's the same as taking notes in her sleep," Riku teased. "If you want notes, Kairi, you can borrow mine."

"Yeah, or you can just skip that and photocopy his homework instead. Riku writes like a girl anyway; the teacher wouldn't be able to tell." Sora pouted as Riku glared daggers at him. Kairi chuckled. Their teasing always made her laugh. Today though, her laugh held a hidden sadness in it. They were the best friends, after all. She was more of the "third wheel" in their relationship, and she was more than aware of it right now.

"It's fine, boys, I'll just read the textbook on my own later."

"That's what you said last time, you know," Riku turned back to her, "and you ended up skipping class for the next week."

"Yeah, well, I had a perfectly good excuse for that."

"What, talking to Namine? That's a horrible excuse." Riku sighed. Sora giggled; he always giggled at everything Riku said. Kairi began to feel her face redden, but continued on.

"You're just jealous because you don't have-"

"Someone in my head to talk to? Gee, how unlucky am I."

She hated Riku's superior attitude. She hated when he got like this. She hated this time more than normal, because he was indirectly insulting Namine. If he said one more word, she swore to herself she would-

"Riku, don't be like that. You make it sound like she's talking to herself, like some crazy. She's not, and you know that. They're not the same person, and Nobodies are fun to talk to, really! Well, actually, talking to Roxas is kind of like talking to an emo cardboard box, but it's still great and… stuff. And I'm sure Namine is even better than that! Right, Kai?" Sora looked at her with hopeful puppy dog eyes, and Kairi melted. Sora always had that effect on people.

"Yeah, much better."

"Ooh, speaking of our Nobodies. Roxas told me that Namine told him that you weren't sleeping that well these days. They're both worried about you. Or, uh. Well, she's worried, he's… slightly bothered? I don't know the word, haha. But yeah! Is something wrong?" Sora had this habit of making longwinded rants when he could really get the same point across with two words. It was cute at times, but Kairi was on a short fuse today and it was beginning to irritate her. Maybe it was her lack of sleep, or maybe it was because he was the one who interrupted her dream with Namine just when she swears they were just about to-

"Um, Kairi?"

"What?" She replied, exasperated. She was getting tired of never being able to finish her thoughts.

"Is, uh, something wrong?" Sora asked, trying to be cautious. Riku rolled his eyes. He was never one to beat around the bush.

"Kairi, not sleeping will weaken your immune system. You'll get sick. You'll miss school. You won't graduate. You'll turn into a hobo at the beach and Sora and I will have to visit you every day just to drop off food so you can stay alive. You'll fail at life. Do you want that? No. So whatever it is, suck it up, and just go to sl-"

"The hell is wrong with you today, Riku? Did I accidentally shove a stick up your ass?" Kairi snapped. "Or were you always this much of a jerk and I just never noticed?"

That was it; she didn't feel like dealing with this crap anymore. She didn't need them. Boys were trouble anyway; the only person she needed was...

... was... _her._

Kairi shook her head. She needed to get home.

"I have to go." Kairi zipped up her bag. She hesitated for a second, and then added, "See you tomorrow, Sora."

Because in reality, she had no reason to be mad at the boy who was caught between his two best friends. Or, actually, it was his best friend and the girl he liked. That's right… Sora liked her, and she liked him. That's why they were always together. That's why everyone voted them the school's Cutest Couple. That's why she was on the phone every night listening to Selphie babble and gush about how lucky she is. That's how it's supposed to be, right? That's how her life is supposed to run for the next few years, and then she and Sora would get married, and then they would have kids and then they would grow up, and she and Sora would grow old and die together, and then that would be that. That's how it's supposed to be.

_This is stupid,_ Kairi sighed.

* * *

**A/N: **Please don't hate Riku. D: I do like him, and he cares about her (in a platonic way, of course), really... he just has a funny way of showing it. Also, uh they're all in their senior year second semester, which is why they're talking about graduation. Sora and Kairi are 17, while Riku is 18. And Kairi's grades aren't as horrible as Riku makes them sound, they're really... well, they're passing. Most of them. :D;;

I'm thinking of combining the third and fourth chapters because the current third chapter doesn't have Namine in it either. ): I need my NamiKai fix... lol.

SO... right. Next update might take a little bit longer, since the fourth chapter isn't even written yet... but it'll come soon. Please review and leave your thoughts


	3. Chapter 3: Dream

**A/N: **FLUFF WARNING. CB

Disclaimer stands.

* * *

**Cascading Complications**

Chapter 3: Dream

* * *

"Gaahhh," Kairi missed again. She grumbled profanities to herself as she leaned back in her chair. This was her fourteenth paper ball – and she hadn't made a single basket. "Why can't I do this… I used to be awesome at basketball. I whooped Sora's ass all the time when we were kids! So how come I can't make it into a freaking trashcan anymore? Ugh."

She'd been doing this for a while. At first, she actually did attempt the homework on her desk, but that effort proved to be futile as she hadn't a single clue what the homework, nor the textbooks, were talking about. She had just now given up on paper basketball as well.

"I can't do anything anymore…" Kairi mumbled as she plopped face first onto her bed. She stayed there for a while, trying not to think of anything, but that never really worked for her. Sighing, she slowly sat up and looked toward the door, making sure it was closed and locked, before she continued to do anything that her mother might find... slightly crazy.

She coughed, knowing full well that she should be doing something more productive, but she missed her. She couldn't bring herself to face her after school, and it had been a few hours... she still didn't know what to say, or how to apologize, but Kairi needed to see her right now. Nodding to herself, she decided to wing it.

So she took a side trip to the mirror.

"Uh. Hey. You're here, right?" Kairi whispered. She stared long and hard. She waited for a glimpse of that blonde hair in her reflection's ruby red strands, or a tinge of that beautiful pale colour to replace her own sun-kissed skin. She waited for that pang of regret she knew she would get for talking to Namine without planning exactly what to say beforehand.

None of it came. No matter how long she waited, Kairi saw nothing but her own reflection in that mirror.

Feeling impatient, Kairi put her hand on her reflection's cheek, and decided to speak louder. She shivered a little at the cold surface against her fingers. "C'mon. Are you mad or something? I'm sorry. Please come out."

This wasn't like her. Namine never got mad.

"Nami?" she tried the petname she had once given the girl. Still nothing. "Namine, don't be like this. I… we need to talk, okay? Please?"

After waiting for what felt like hours, a worried Kairi stumbled over to her cell phone. Speed dial #2 was Sora. It rung three times, another hour in Kairi's head, and Sora finally answered.

"Hey, babe, how's it goin'?" She could hear Sora's grin. It was rare for Kairi to call anyone these days (they usually called her), so Sora was extremely giddy whenever she did call. He said that every time. It irritated her a bit, because she wasn't his "babe" or anything, but it made him happy, so she never said anything against it. Besides, there were more important things to discuss right now.

"Roxas."

"What?"

"Can you still talk to Roxas?"

"Uh. I haven't tried yet today, but I don't see why not… why? Is something wrong with Namine?"

"She won't answer me."

"Well, maybe she's… sleeping? Heh."

"This isn't funny, Sora! She's never done this before. She always answers me. I think she might be gone, maybe she's had enough of me, got sick of me, and she just… up and left. Can they even do that?"

"Kairi, calm down. I'll ask Roxas, alright? I'll call you back. I promise."

"Alright. Thank you, Sora."

"No problem. I, uh… lo-never mind, g'night." Click.

There was a slight lapse in Kairi's mental processes (which were previously occupied by her worry for Namine), as she processed what Sora was about to say. She blinked, and, although she never meant it to, a bitter laugh escaped her delicate lips. He loved her? Love, huh… she walked back to the mirror.

"Maybe replacing my reflection is stressful? Too hard? Should I just… go to bed? Would you talk to me then?" Sora could leave a voicemail. And Kairi was awfully tired. Besides her nap in class today, she hadn't slept for nearly a week. Yeah, Sora would understand, and she can apologize to him tomorrow. "Mm. Okay, here's the deal then, Namine. I'll go to sleep tonight, but please show up? We haven't had a late night rendezvous in a long time, and I'm starting to feel sexually deprived." A sad smile touched her features then. She missed this banter she had going with Namine. With one last sigh, she crawled back to her bed, and pulled the covers over her eyes.

* * *

"Namine?" Kairi whispered. So far, this seemed more like a nightmare than a dream. There was almost nothing here. It was bleak and cold and lonely, three things Kairi hasn't felt in her dream world for nearly two years. It made her shiver as she called out again, but louder, determined to find her other half in this world of nothingness that she knew equally nothing of. "Namine?"

She continued calling, each time louder and louder, but she was afraid to move. She couldn't see where she was, what she standing on, what stood two feet in front of her face. Everything was just… black. Soon though, she realized she wasn't going to get an answer. But still, her feet wouldn't move an inch.

"Namine… I'm sorry," Kairi cried silently to herself, giving up on ever finding her angel if she wasn't even prepared to walk into the abyss of darkness before her.

"What are you so sorry for?"

Kairi spun around with enough force to knock a building over; her hair protested to such wild treatment and promptly whipped her in her face.

"Shit, shit, shit... " She rubbed her face gingerly. "It's been years, and I'm still not used to this hair length. Maybe I should just cut it again..."

"You're silly," Namine giggled, "I like your hair the way it is now."

Kairi smiled. "Yeah, well, yours isn't so bad either."

"Do you want to trade, then?"

"Well, that might be a bit awkward. It'd be like looking in a mirror. Oh, wait..."

Namine giggled a bit more, but Kairi remained silent as she studied the girl in front of her. Beautiful golden hair swept to one side, porcelain skin that made her look like a doll, a simple white dress that didn't do her figure justice (at least in Kairi's humble opinion. But, of course, Kairi would have loved to play dress up with the girl any day, so she may be a bit biased, who knows), the cutest little smile, and a slight glowing aura around the entirety of her body.

She was only missing her halo.

Namine had long since stopped giggling to herself, and by now the two were simply staring at each other. God, Namine had the most gorgeous blue eyes Kairi had ever seen... they were technically her eyes, too, she guessed, since they were supposed to be similar in the facial area department, but she had always thought hers were dull compared to her other. Namine had a passion in her eyes that Kairi had long lost. But a passion for what? She wasn't really sure, but a part of her knew what she wished it to be. It would feed her daydreams later.

What seemed like an eternity later, Namine gave Kairi another faint, slightly mischievous smile, turned around, and began to walk away.

"Wha-? W-wait! Where are you going?" Broken from her trance, Kairi desperately chased after her.

"To turn on the lights, of course. I want to be able to see you, and this darkness is getting in the way." She answered simply, not stopping in her course to wait since she knew Kairi would have no trouble catching up.

"Why is it so dark anyway?" Kairi asked, catching up to the girl who made her feel so... _inadequate. _Wonderfully inadequate.

"I don't know."

"Don't lie, you've had complete control of every dream I've ever had for nearly two years now. This has never happened before. Why is it so dark now?"

"... I... I kind of..." She hesitated a lot here, and Kairi took note of that for future reference. "Well, I fell asleep."

"What?"

"I fell asleep. I didn't have time to prepare a world for you."

"So where are we now then...?"

"... this is... your dream. What it would be normally, if I didn't alter it."

Kairi stopped in her tracks. Her dream? _Her_ dream? "So... it's always like this then? When you don't help, that is."

"... I suppose," it was a mumble, and Kairi could barely hear her. Namine switched gears and began talking of much more useless topics, but Kairi had tuned out all sound at this point. So this was her, huh... god, she never realized what a dark person she was... this felt more like Riku's mind, not hers. Surely not the Princess of Heart. Yeah, that's right. This was some mistake. Namine was lying. She had to be.

"Here we go!" Kairi looked up. They were on a border, here was where the darkness ended. In front of the girls and a few feet into the white area, was a gigantic black door. It reminded her a little of Kingdom Hearts, but she didn't say anything. That couldn't be here, right? "Stay here, 'kay? I'll be right back."

Kairi nodded, but it didn't matter. Namine never waited for an answer. _Strange,_ Kairi thought to herself, _she seems like she's in a rush today._

Moments later, Namine emerged from behind the door, and motioned for Kairi to come closer. She tilted her head a little, confused as to what they were doing, but did as she was told nonetheless. Behind the big black door, there was a much smaller gray door. Namine smiled her angelic little smile and took Kairi's hand. Taking a step forward, she leaned in, and Kairi tensed.

"This way," she whispered. Kairi could feel her lips moving against her ear. "Just a little more."

Gulping, Kairi refused to speak, lest her mouth betray her secrets, and simply nodded as Namine drew back. She followed Namine without question, and would do anything she said if she had just asked like that every single time...

Once through, they found themselves, again, in Namine's room. Greaat, Kairi sighed as she noticed the door behind them had vanished. Namine didn't notice Kairi's discomfort and bounced over to the bed sitting perfectly in the corner. Once settled, she patted the space next to her, and gave Kairi a smile she hadn't refused the entirety of the dream.

So she crawled up the bed and lay next to the girl who had captured her heart.

"So, honey, what brings you to my lovely abode?" Namine giggled as she wrapped her arms around Kairi's waist. Kairi squirmed a bit. _My god, she's in a good mood. Why is she being so touchy-feely lately?_ (not that Kairi was complaining any). Okay. This was it. Kairi tensed. _All you have to do is apologize for being an even bigger dork than Sora these past few weeks, _she thought to herself, _and then... you have to tell her you... like her. Don't disappoint yourself, Kairi... you have to do this._

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?"

"It's important."

"Must be, you have the most serious face on right now." Namine removed her hands from Kairi's hips, and Kairi lost her iron will. "I'm listening."

"Um... I...uh, where were you today? I tried calling you by mirror, and you didn't show." Complete fail, Kairi, great job.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I told you, I fell asleep."

"I didn't know you needed sleep."

"I usually don't. I just kind of fell asleep today. It wasn't on purpose."

"Getting sick or something?"

"Ahah, okay, now that's something I don't think I can do. There aren't germs here and it's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon, you know. Unless you plan on bringing germs here the next time I see you."

"Mm. Well then, you have no worries. I would never think of getting you sick."

"Just take care of yourself then."

"Oh, I get it. Whatever happens to my body happens to yours too, right? That does make sense..." Kairi put on a fake contemplative face. They were talking normally, and this was good enough... she'd tell Namine her undying and slightly narcissistic love for her another day. Being normal was good enough.

"No, that's not what I meant. I just want you to take better care of yourself. I don't care what happens to me."

"Then I guess I have to care about you enough for the two of us, huh?" Kairi was starting to respond without thinking.

"You have no reason to worry, but hey, I'll just accept that as your little way of saying 'I love you.' You're sweet," Namine giggled at the blush consuming Kairi's head. "Your face matches your hair right now, you know. My gosh, Kairi, you've softened over the years. It's so cute."

"You sound so old. 'Over the years?' We still have a lifetime to go."

"... right." Wait, what? What was that hesitation?

"Namine, wha-"

"Oh, look at the time. I suppose I took too long finding you today," Namine got up. "It's nearly 7 back home. You'd better get up soon, Kai."

"No! Namine I need to-"

"Kairi, do you hear? I think it's your mother." Sure enough, there was a faint knocking echoing inside the room, and Kairi could hear the faint nasally sound of her mother's voice. She hated that voice more than anything right now. "Right. I think that's our cue. We'll continue this later then?"

"I... guess." Kairi sat up, and looked away from Namine. She couldn't believe how short their time together was tonight. Just how long were they walking through that darkness anyway?

"... don't worry. I'll be waiting for you."

"Promise?"

"... yes." Everything began to fade as the knocking grew louder. Before she disappeared entirely, Namine turned and intended to give Kairi a peck on the cheek, like they often did with each other before everything got weird. However, Kairi had turned to say something, her last chance today to say how sorry she was for earlier.

Their lips touched, just slightly, and they both froze. The dream faded.

* * *

**A/N:** Fluff makes me smile Even if it's a 2000 word chapter. :'D Leave your thoughts and review please! Also, this chapter is unedited... god, I'm lazy. D: But hey, chapters come out faster this way, so no complaining? I hope... D: Next chapter will have... some... point lol.


	4. Chapter 4: Suspension

**A/N:** I really didn't know what to do with this chapter. I have decided on my ending, and I know exactly how I want it to go, but this chapter escapes me completely. So here's me, winging this. It's only 400 words, so this is pathetic beyond belief, but... it lets me set up the next chapters, so I guess it does its job fine. Think of this as an intermission chapter.

Thank you so much for the reviews and faves guys! It makes me happy to know that people are actually reading this. This will probably be another three or four chapters and that's it. So yeahh lol. Climax soon?!

_Italics_ are song lyrics. Because song lyrics increase my word count and, not only do I love Mae, but this song kind of matches anyway.

This probably won't be the last time I stick lyrics in. If you care, see the (extremely long) closing notes for details since I'm sure you guys are sick of me by now, lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own any bit of KH, nor the song "Suspension" by Mae.

* * *

**Cascading Complications**

Chapter 4: Suspension

* * *

_Lately I'm alright, and lately I'm not scared._

_I've figured out that what you do to me feels like I'm floating on air._

_I don't need to know right now,_

_All I know is I believe in the very thing that got us here,_

_And now I can't leave._

The entire week, Kairi kept a good mood. She attended school, she paid attention in her classes, and she had no more episodes of self-forced insomnia. She didn't exactly make up with Riku, but they got to the point where both of them had silently agreed to forget about the little spat they had. Sora was immensely relieved at this little revelation, but had still seemed distracted to Kairi. He did try to confront her about something or other a couple times, but they were always interrupted.

Kairi couldn't be bothered to stop moving for Sora, because the faster she moved through the day, the faster she could get home and to her bed. She had begun keeping herself busy with schoolwork (because time passed faster when you're doing something), so Sora didn't really complain. She figured that it wasn't important anyway, since he would always put it off in the end. So she pushed it to the back of her mind and convinced herself Sora would tell her when he was ready.

_Now I'm wanting this for sure, and I'll beg for nothing more._

_I'll plan all day and drive all night._

_You'll love what's in store._

_I can't seem to stop this now, even if it's not so clear,_

_And I'll take what I can get, if you want me here._

Kairi didn't become entirely good however. Habits just don't change that easily. She didn't do any work outside of school – she slept for over 12 hours daily, and spent every minute of those dreams with Namine.

It was a bit awkward at first, for neither girl had known the feelings they had for their other was mutual. It had only remained awkward for about an hour or so – they had immediately become as comfortable with each as they previously were (moreso than before, really).

The kiss they had shared wasn't their last.

_Say anything, but say what you mean._

_When you whisper you want this,_

_Your eyes tell the same._

_We are gaining speed, I can barely breathe._

_I'm caught in suspension._

Everything was better than Kairi could have ever wanted, and for that one week, she believed that life was perfect. It would be perfect, as long as she had Namine with her.

And then she woke up one morning, and her dream had died.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so I really did try to follow the original storyline (or as much as I remember of it), but there are a few inevitable changes. (you don't need to read this, but if you're bored between this update and the next... lol).

Destiny Islands isn't the island that our trio live on. I'm not sure if this is actually true or not, since I know Kairi goes to school on a different (what I'm assuming is still an) island. The three live there, and they've stopped visiting the Destiny Island that we all are so familiar with from the games. Nobody really visits there anymore, because it's kind of considered a "ghost spot," thanks to the PFF kids (**P**reteen **F**inal **F**antasy kids LOL). Of course, there are no ghosts, but people stopped visiting, and soon they just... sort of forgot about it.

I'm disregarding the whole bottle scene at the end of KH2 as well. So yeah, no more adventures for them lol. They've been living normal lives for nearly two years now.

Sora and Riku still play around and Kairi still watches them play around. She has made friends with Selphie, but they're not close at all. They haven't talked for nearly two weeks at this point in the fic.

Kairi doesn't remember her birthday (yet she remembers her age? lulz), so they all celebrate the day she was discovered on the beach. She is "older" than Sora by a few months. She was also adopted into a "normal" family back when she was found (I think in the game it was a grandma?), so she has a mom and dad. They're very lenient with her, and don't really care what she does as long as she passes most of her classes and doesn't like... do drugs or whatever. Sora's parents are the typical "we just care about you!!1" parents, and Riku's are the typical azn ones that put a ton of pressure on him.

Riku is going to be valedictorian, of course.

Sora's grades are very average, and Kairi would be beating him if she would actually try.

Kairi took up art and music, in an attempt to become more "artistic" and impress Namine (though she wouldn't admit that at the time). She utterly fails at art (she couldn't muster up a decent grade if she tried), but she's pretty good with a guitar. So in her dreams, she liked to watch Namine draw, and Namine liked to hear her play.

Sora was forced into piano lessons as a kid, so they sometimes play together when they're bored. Riku is left out 'cause his parents make him study lulz.

Sora likes Kairi, and Riku is very jealous. (sexual tension?! LOL)

Kairi does not return Sora's feelings (duhh), and nobody knows of her feelings for Namine.

While they all still have their powers (Sora and Riku can still call their keyblades, Namine can still rewrite people's memories), KAIRI DOES NOOOOT have a keyblade. Nor did she ever. Because that was really. Really. Dumbi'msorry. I love Kairi, but when she jumped in with her flowery keyblade of doom, I was just kind of like "WTFno."

Yeahh I think that's it. Or if not, then oh well. 'cause this is a freaking wall of text for an A/N. I'll never do it again, promise.

Thank you guys again for reading! I appreciate it lots, and it'd be very awesome if you guys kept it up. 8D I wanna know what you all think, so leave your thoughts!


End file.
